Till-lock



(No Model.)

G. J. KELLER.

TILL LOOK.

No. 430,525. Patented June 17, 18 90.

' I I Even/Z01":

WiZw/es ses:

NlTED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

GEORGE J. KELLER, OE OSCEOLA, NEBRASKA.

TILL-LOCK.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 430.525, dated June 17, 1890.

Application filed March 29, 1890. Serial No. 345,820. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, GEORGE J. KELLER, of Osceola, in the county of Polk and State of Nebraska, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Combination Till-Locks; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilledin the art to which it pertains to make and use it, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, which form part of this specification.

My invention relates to an improvement in combination till-locks, and is intended especially as an improvement upon the patent granted to me February 11, 1SQO,N0.421,2S6; and it consists in the combination, with the till or drawer, of the locking-bolts placed therein, the operating-levers to which the lower ends of the bolts are connected and which carry the alarm levers, the conn ectinglinks attached to the outer ends of these levers, the L-shaped operating-levers, and the shield or support upon which these levers are supported, as will be more fully described hereinafter.

The objects of my invention are to provide shields for the operating parts, so as to 1316- vent persons from seeing or feeling to find out which of the levers are in or out of the combination, and to provide a support upon which the operating L-shapcd levers are placed, and which support at the same time serves as a d rawer-pull.

Figure 1 is a vertical section of a lock which embodies my invention. Fig. 2 is an inverted view of the same.

A represents the counter, and B the drawer, which is placed under it, and which has its upper front edge shaped as shown, so as to prevent a person from seeing between the upper edge of the drawer and the lower edge of the flange O, secured to the under side of the counter, and thus seeing which on es of the locking-bolts are in the combination. Inside of this drawer B are placed any desired numberof locking-bolts D, which extend parallel with the front end of the drawer, and which are guided in their vertical movements by the keepers G. There will be any desired number of these bolts D, and any number of these boltswill be used in a combination for locking the drawer or till when it is closed, and

those not in the combination will only be brought into use for locking the drawer when some one not acquainted with the combination attempts to open the draweror till. The upper ends of these bolts are beveled away, as shown, so that when they strike the incline'd under surface of the flange 0 they will be automatically depressed and then raised into the position shown in Fig. 1 by the levers connected to them. Near the lower end of each belt I) is formed a shoulder H, which limits the distance that the bolts shall drop. The lower ends of the bolts below the shoulders H are reduced in thickness, as shown, and pass down through openings made in the bottom of the drawer and through the openings J in the operating-levers E, which are pivoted upon the rod I, which is supported on the under side of the drawer by the hangers K.

Connected to the under side of the levers F are the weighted slotted levers L, which are held in contact with the under sides of the levers E by the keepers N and the screws 0. These levers L can be adjusted endwisc the whole length of their slots, through which the screwsO pass.

Vhen any of the levers are to be used in the combination for locking the drawer when it is closed,the screws 0 are loosened and the levers L are forced forward, so that their reduced front ends will pass through the openings P made in the lower ends of the bolts D just below the levers E, and thus lock those bolts which are to be used in the combination and their corresponding levers F together, so as to cause them to move together. \Vhere any of the bolts D are to be thrown out of the combination, the screws 0 are loosened, and then the levers L are moved backward, so that their front ends will notengage with the bolts D, which then drop in the drawer as far as their shoulders will allow. Those bolts not in the combination, not being connected to and operated by the levers F, do not then take part in the locking of the drawer when it is closed, even if their levers are operated by some one attempting to open the till who does not know the combination.

Secured to the under side of the drawer at any suitable point is a plate of soundingrnetal a, against which the weights or balls on the lower ends of the levers L strike for the purpose ol sounding an alarm when any of the levers not in the combination are operated.

In order to prevent a person who wishes to get access to the till from seeing or feeling to find out which of the levers L and corresponding bolts D are in the combination, a shield or inclosing-case Q of any suitable shape is secured to the under side of the drawer, and which is made to completely hide all of the operatil'ig-levers F L and the lower ends of the bolts D from sight. 'llhrough the upper front edge of this shield Q are formed a number of slots or openings, through which the front ends of the levers F project for the purpose of forming connection with their correspendingoperating L-shaped levers R. There is a lever R for each one of the bolts D, and these levers are pivoted upon the rod S, which extends horizontally through the ears T, secured to the under side of the guard U, which is secured to the lower front edge of the drawer. This guard U serves both as a support for the levers R and as a drawer-pull by means of which the drawer is opened. This guard also serves to conceal the levers R from sight, and thus make it more difficult for a person not acquainted with the combination to operate the right bolts D to unlock the drawer. The front ends of the levers F and the upper ends of the levers R are connected by suitable coupling-links V, which allow the parts a free movement. When the levers R which correspond to the bolts D which are in the combination are operated by having their lower ends drawn backward against the guard U, the front ends of the corresponding levers F are depressed, thus drawing the bolts downward with them, so as to unlock the drawer and thus leave it free to be opened. In case a person not familiar with the combination and who has no right to open the till should operate any one or more of the levers R which corrrespond to the bolts D which are not in the combination, the rear ends of the levers F, connected to the wrong levers R are thrown upward, so as to strike against the alarm, and thus call attention to the fact that the till is being opened. \Vhen the proper levers are operated, they throw up the rear ends of the corresponding levers F and L without sounding an alarm, because the levers L are sufficiently forward on the lovers F to prevent the balls on their rear ends from striking the alarm, and hence no alarm is sounded when the proper levers are operated to open the drawer.

It has been found by me that the guards U and Q are very necessary, for without them a person by looking under the drawer or by feeling the levers can determine which ones of the levers are to be operated for unlocking the drawer without sounding an alarm.

Having thus described my invention, I claim- 1. The combination, with the drawer or till, of the guard U, secured to its front end, the pivoted levers con n eeted thereto, the connecting-links, the levers F L, and the bolts D, substantially as set forth.

2. In a combination-lock for tills or drawers, the combination of the guard U, which forms a support for the L-shaped operatingle vers and serves as a drawer-pulhthe levers R, F, and L, the connecting-links V between the levers R and I and the bolts D, provided with openings through their lower ends, in which the front ends of the endwise-moving alarm-levers L are made to catch when the bolts D are to be used in the combination,

substantially as shown and described.

In testimony whereof I affix my si nature in presence of two witnesses.

GEORGE J. KELLER.

Witnesses: Y

OSCAR N. KELLER, EZRA L. KELLER. 

